Alliance of Civilizations: Statement by Ambassador Berger

(Statement as delivered by Ambassador Berger on the occassion of a meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations)

"Thank you, High Representative, for giving me the floor and let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on assuming your new important position.

Germany fully aligns itself with the statement made earlier by the EU and I therefore will keep our national remarks very brief.

I would like to thank the High Representative for sharing his views on the prospects and future strategic plan for the Alliance. It this context we would like to highlight the proposal to actively use the Focal Points’ network to analyse and evaluate the Alliance`s work. This in our view will help strengthening the Alliance in order to tackle future challenges more effectively.

We would like to call on the Alliance of Civilizations and all partners to make effective use of this network. This also implies the provision of the network with timely and comprehensive information on future plans and activities.

Concerning future priorities, be believe that projects for young people should remain a top priority. This is why Germany decided to continue its support for the UN AOC Fellowship program with another 300.000 EURO for this year. We see the Fellowship Program becoming more and more a flagship project of the UNAOC.

In the context of the ongoing transformation processes in Arab countries, the fellowship program provides emerging “leaders” of those countries with a unique opportunity to connect and exchange experiences with their peers from other regions of the world.

We are looking forward to welcoming the next group of AoC fellows in New York and in Berlin in June.

Germany also welcomes the initiative to launch an alumni-network of the AoC Fellows and thanks the government of Azerbaijan for hosting the first alumni meeting in Baku.

Germany looks forward to the further elaboration of the Alliance’s Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 and stands ready to work closely together with you in this regard.

Peace and Security

Regional conflicts, fragile or collapsed states, armed conflicts, terrorism and organized crime – all have grave consequences for the people who suffer under them. They also threaten the security and stability of entire regions and peoples.